Arch binder



y 1950 K. G. SJOQUlST 2,515,903

ARCH BINDER Filed March a, 1947 IN VEN TOR.

14 11 13 BY M Patentecl July 18, 1950 f Anon BINDER H a Kenneth G. Sjoquist, Chicago; Ill., assignorto The Kendall Company, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 3; 1947, Serial No. 731,957

This invention relates to tubular elastic bandages, particularly to that-class designed to en--* circle the foot at thearch and instep, known as the arch binder. i

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an arch binder which when worn will give correct anatomical support to the arches of a mildly weakened and/or tiredfoot by holding the tarsal and metatarsal articulations and the sur-' rounding structures in approximately correct alignment. v i

It is a secondary objective of this invention to provide in such an automatically correct binder a practical footbandage which can be worn comfortably inside a shoe.

A third object of the invention is to provide an arch binder which, in addition to the above properties. has,- except at the seam, a selvedge oran integral fold at each circumferential edge. 1

While it has bee recognized in the past that presently known tubular arch binders do provide some measure of temporary relief for those who suffer from weak and/or tired feet, apparently little thought has been given by the manufacturers to the functional purpose of such a binder, to the therapeutics involved, or to the anatomy of the foot. It is customary to make this type of arch binder of ordinary wide, paralleledged elastic material usually from 1% inches to 3 inches wide, by butt-jointing the bias-cut ends of the fabric to form a tube. Such a binder, comprising a substantially cylindrical band, the clastic elements of which are parallel, provides an over-all binding action about the foot which has little functional effect. Such binders even when properly applied do not provide an adequate, necessary concentrated therapeutic effect where such is required in the area of the instep arch of the foot.

The functional purpose of an arch binder is mainly to provide means of inducing an alteration in the gravitational axis through which the weight of the body is transferred to the ground thereby relieving the strain on the inner arch area of the foot. Such an alteration is brought about by creating in the wearer a feeling of protective support in the region of the sensitive inner arch whereby a complex reflex mechanism causes a change in muscle balance. This change in muscle balance in turn throws a greater proportion of the body weight to the outer part of the foot which is the proper weight-bearing area.

In designing an arch binder which brings about these desirable changes consideration was given to related anatomical structures so as to concen- -4Claims. (01128-1665) trate the therapeutic effect in the area ofthe sen sitive inner arch. r

I have discovered that inorder to attain the desired concentrated therapeutic effect in the sensitive inner arch, a binder having an extended or widened area of support for that particular: portion ofthe foot and a narrower portion for.

the outer. side of the foot is most-effective. particular shape of binder permit an .outrolling:

ofthe edge portions of the widened area to conform to the concavity of the inner arch without constricting action at the edges. construction must be so formed, however, .as to provide a supportive action throughout its -entirety. Such supportiv action is provided when the binding elements in the widened area are ef-;

fective throughvthe narrow area-and around the foot. Suchelements of the binder which press inwardly on the foot are not substantially par-1 allel, however, as they are in the ordinary binder but converge from .theinner arch to the outer portion of the-foot, These converging tensions provide the desired concentrated therapeutic 'effeet on the sensitive inner arch.

Arch binderslwhich have-the above described features may be produced by several methods all of which provide products having finished circumferential edges. For instance, my binder material may be woven by incorporating, as filler threads in some areas, yarns which shrink after treatment while in other areas yarns which do not shrink or shrink less are used. Parallel sided elastic material so woven then may be treated to cause differential shrinkage resulting in a fabric of controlled varying widths which may be subsequently made into binders as is hereinafter described.

Or the shaped material for my binder may be knitted using all elastic thread on a circular knitting machine, a fiat bed knitting machine or a warp machine. For instance, the material may be made in a thin endless tube of alternating wide and narrow diameters on an elastic thread circular knitting machine. The binder blanks then may be formed by cutting the narrow portion of the tube on the bias as hereinafter. explained and butt jointing the ends to form finished dou- Hole-thickness arch binders of my improved type. But in my preferred method of manufacture, I weave the material on a fan reed loom using covered rubber threads in the warp in the manner well understood in the elastic weaving art to attain what is known in the art as short stretch, high kick material. A 7% inch length of my preferred material attains its maximum length The widened- Without strain of 13 /2 inches when it is suspended from one end and subjected to the downward pull of 112 ounces. Obviously my preferred stretch characteristics may b varied somewhat and the material may be made elastic by the incorporation of other materials than rubber without departing from the scope of the invention. In weaving my preferred fabric on thefan. reed loom, the loom is adjusted so as to produce material 2% inches at the narrow portion of the. fabric to 31% inches at the widest portion of the fabric. This type of fabric is produced by raising and lowering the fan reeds to narrow or widen the distance between the elastic warp threads. I prefer to have the widened portion cover about four inches of fabric length with a relatively straight portion on either side of it. From this continuous woven material, I prefer to cut my blanks so that the seam will occur at the narrow portion of the fabric. This permits cutting various sizes of arch binders from the same fabric length. The seam may be made elsewhere, however. To fit properly an arch binder should be larger at the instep than at the waist of the foot and accordingly my preferred binder is cut on the bias with the instep edge ,4; inch longer than the other. The bias cut ends are then joined by zigzag stitching to form the completed binder.

I have found that in order to fit feet within the shoe size range from 43 to 11%E the instep measurements on my preferred arch binder increase from 6% to 8% inches while the corresponding waist measurements are A; inch shorter.

In the fi res: Figure 1 is rear view of a preferred arch binder showing the butt joint. Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1. Figure 3 shows the method of wearing the binder of Figurel. Figure 4 is an isometric view of fabric from which preferred binders are made.

In Figure 1, H indicates a longitudinally elastic fabric having selvedge edges l2 and I3 and consisting of a narrower portion l4 and a wider portion l5. Bias cut ends l6 of fabric I2 are joined in butt relationship by stitching I1.

I claim:

1. In an arch binder, longitudinally elastic woven fabric, selvedge side edges defining a wide mid-portion and narrower end portions of said fabric elastic elements of said narrow portions being equal in number to the elastic elements of said wide portion,wbias cut edges terminating the end portions'fof said fabric and means for joining said cut edges in butt relationship to form a circumferentiall elastic tube.

2. In an arch binder, a circumferentially elastic tube of woven fabric, selvedge circumferential tube end edges defining wide and narrow surface areas of said tube elastic elements of said tube converging from said wide area to said narrow areas, cut edges extending from one circumferential edge to the other, and means for securing said out edges in butt relationship.

3. In an arch binder, a circumferentially elastic tube, integral uncut circumferential tube end edges defining wide and narrow surface areas of said tube, cut edges extending from one circumferential edge to the other and means for securing said out edges in butt relationship.

4. In an arch binder, a circumferentially elastic tube, a longitudinal seam in said tube, a finished integral circumferential edge at each end REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Woodbury' Feb. 26, 1878 Number 

